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Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
STAR DATE: 1986. :HOW ON EARTH CAN THEY SAVE THE FUTURE? Kirk and crew travel back in time to 20th century San Francisco in search of two humpback whales to bring to the future to save Earth from destruction by an alien probe. Summary It is the year 2286, and as a result of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Admiral James T. Kirk and the crew of the recently-destroyed [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|USS Enterprise]] are stranded on Vulcan. They decide to return to Earth to face the punishment for their actions in the previous film on board their seized Klingon vessel, which was renamed the [[HMS Bounty|HMS Bounty]]. Spock has regained full control of his faculties once again, and returns as a full-fledged member of the crew. Back on Earth, the Klingon ambassador to the United Federation of Planets is outraged that Kirk faces nine violations of Starfleet General Orders and Regulations and is not being held accountable for the death of the Klingon crew and ship as per The Search for Spock; he pledges that there would be no peace as long as Kirk lives. As the Enterprise crew returns towards Earth on their Klingon Bird-of-Prey, they discover that Earth faces a destructive alien probe which renders starships powerless in its path. It wreaks tremendous damage on the Earth's surface and proceeds to begin the evaporation of the oceans and the ionization of the atmosphere, leading to extreme weather patterns and cloaking the Earth in clouds and storms. Life on Earth is threatened, and Ambassador Sarek advises the Federation President to issue a warning that all ships should avoid Earth. The Enterprise crew analyzes the probe's signal, and Spock discovers that it is in fact a whale song, specifically that of the humpback whale, which has been extinct since the 21st century. Kirk decides the only way to save Earth and Starfleet is to travel back in time, acquire some whales and bring them back to the 23rd century. Kirk advises Starfleet of his plan, and performs the slingshot effect time travel method using the Sun. They find whale song in North America, specifically in San Francisco. They also find themselves in the year 1986. Kirk and his crew have difficulty adjusting to the 1980s, and rely on mere instinct to survive. The crew is split up into teams - Chekov and Uhura must collect radioactive photons from an American nuclear vessel to recrystallize the drained dilithium crystals on board the Bird-of-Prey; McCoy, Scotty, and Sulu are sent to find materials to construct a whale tank aboard the ship; and Spock and Kirk are to attempt to find the two humpback whales they detected in San Francisco. Kirk and Spock head to the Cetacean Institute and meet Dr. Gillian Taylor, a guide and whale lover. While at the Institute, Spock jumps into the whale tank and performs a Vulcan mind meld with one of the two whales, George and Gracie, and successfully explains the Enterprise crew's mission. Dr. Taylor is outraged by their actions, but later sympathizes with them as she runs into them while driving home from work. Spock's quirks amaze Dr. Taylor, such as blurting out the fact that the female whale is actually pregnant, something nobody outside the institute knows. Kirk and Taylor end up going out to dinner, and Kirk feels he has to reveal the truth about his identity - being from the 23rd century, working in space, etc. - to try and gain Dr. Taylor's cooperation in getting the whales, which were to be released back into the wild soon. She is skeptical at best and disbelieves Kirk's story. In the meantime, Scotty and his team have managed to find a manufacturer of large plexiglass walls - Plexicorp - and he and McCoy masquerade as scientists from Edinburgh who were to tour the plant - unbeknownst to the plant's head, Dr. Nichols. Scotty makes a scene, but is given a tour of the plant, and then later secures the required materials for constructing a whale tank by violating the Temporal Prime Directive by revealing the chemical matrix of the futuristic material, transparent aluminum. Sulu manages to befriend a helicopter pilot and secures the Huey 204's usage later in the film to help install the plexiglass into the Bird-of-Prey. Chekov and Uhura find the location of a nuclear vessel. Chekov, who of course speaks with a Russian accent, must have looked very peculiar stopping random passers-by asking where nuclear vessels could be located, while the US and Soviet Union were still engaged in the Cold War. They, however, do find a vessel, the aptly named [[USS Enterprise (CVN-65)|USS Enterprise]], and beam in secretly at night to secure the photons. Uhura transports out safely with the collector, but due to radiation, Chekov is discovered and held prisoner. He attempts to escape captivity but falls off a ledge and suffers severe head injuries. Dr. Taylor discovers in one scene that the whales were released without her knowledge, and in tears, returns to the park where the Bird-of-Prey is located, and is finally beamed aboard the ship by Kirk - the truth is now known. He is her only hope for protecting the whales, something she dearly wants. Before going after the whales, however, the crew has to rescue Chekov. McCoy, Kirk and Dr. Taylor manage to sneak into the hospital, where Chekov is revived quickly by 23rd-Century technology, after which they run through the hospital, and are beamed to safety while in an elevator. Dr. Taylor insists on coming with Kirk by latching onto him while he is transported on-board. The dilithium recrystallizes just in time for the crew to fly to Alaska, where the whales are located, and save them from a whaling vessel. The whales are beamed aboard, and the crew performs another slingshot back to the 23rd century, with Dr. Taylor in hand. The Bird-of-Prey crashes into San Francisco harbor, and the whales are released and communicate to the probe. The probe halts its destruction of the oceans after communicating with the whales, and the Earth is saved. However, Kirk and crew still face punishment. Due to the preceding circumstances, though, all charges are dropped, except for one: disobeying a superior officer, which was directed solely at Admiral Kirk. Kirk's punishment is a permanent reduction in rank to Captain, and a return to command of a Starfleet vessel. Flying through Spacedock, the crew heads toward their new assignment. McCoy conjectures they will get a freighter, while Sulu (to Scotty's chagrin) hopes for ''Excelsior''. However, they soon see which vessel they will get: NCC-1701-A, a new USS Enterprise. The film ends with the crew in their new ship, heading out into space, ready for what may come next. Memorable Quotes "I find it hard to believe that I've come millions of miles–!" "Thousands, thousands!" "– thousands of miles...!" : - Scott and McCoy, with a supplier "Admiral Kirk has been charged with nine violations of Starfleet regulations." "Starfleet regulations! That's outrageous!" : - Federation President and Klingon Ambassador "Ah – a keyboard! How quaint!" : - Scott, working a Macintosh "You realize that if we give him the formula, we'll be altering the future." "Why? How do we know that he didn't invent the thing?" : - Scott and McCoy, at Plexicorp "Did... did you see that!?" "No'', and neither did you, so shut up!" : - '''Two Park workers', as the [[HMS Bounty|HMS Bounty]] lands in San Fransisco "Everybody remember where we parked!" : - Kirk, as the Bounty crew begins their mission "They left last night. We didn't want a mob scene with the press. It wouldn't be good for them. Besides, I thought it would be easier on you this way." "You sent them away without letting me say goodbye?! You son of a bitch!!" : - Briggs and Taylor "Excuse me, sir. We are looking for the naval base in Alameda. It's where they keep the nuclear wessels." : - Chekov, asking directions from a San Francisco Police Officer "Admiral – there be ''whales here!" : - '''Scott', as the whales are beamed aboard "Spock, where the hell's that power you promised?" "One damn minute, Admiral." : - Spock's retort to Kirk, after having learned "colorful metaphors" on 20th century Earth "You guys like Italian?" "Yes." "No." "No – Yes." "No." "Yes. I love Italian. ''(Kirk looks at Spock) And so do you." "''Yes." : - Dr. Taylor asking Kirk and Spock out for dinner to discuss matters "Back in the sixties he used to be part of the free speech movement at Berkley. ''(Kirk whispers to Dr. Taylor) I think he did a little too much LDS." "''LDS?" : - Kirk and Dr. Taylor, as Kirk tries to explain Spock's quirks "Hey, why don't you watch where you're going, you dumbass!" "Well, a double dumbass on you!" : - An irate driver and Kirk "Are you sure you won't change your mind?" "Is there something wrong with the one I have?" : - Dr. Taylor and Spock "What does it mean, 'exact change'?" : - Spock, after he and Kirk are kicked off a bus "You're suggesting that we go back in time to find two humpback whales. Then bring them forward in time, drop them off, and hope to hell they tell this probe what to go do with itself." "That's the general idea." "Well that's crazy!" "You got a better idea, now's the time." : - McCoy and Kirk, discussing time travel "Hello, computer." : - Scotty, speaking into Dr. Nichols' mouse. "Are those not the glasses Dr. McCoy gave you?" "And I'll get them again, thats the beauty of it." : - Spock and Kirk, in an antique shop. Background Information * This film is dedicated to the women and men (including crew) of the NASA [[Wikipedia:Space Shuttle Challenger|Space Shuttle Challenger]] that exploded on January 28, 1986, almost 10 months before the release of Star Trek IV. * Most of the shots of the humpback whales were taken using four-foot long animatronics models. Four such models were created, and were so realistic that after release of the film, US fishing authorities publicly criticized the film makers for getting too close to whales in the wild. The scenes involving these whales were shot in a high school swimming pool. A large animatronic tail was also created, for the scene on the sinking Bird-of-Prey, filmed on the Paramount car park, which was flooded for the shoot. The shot of the whales swimming past the Golden Gate Bridge was filmed on location, and nearly ended in disaster when a cable got snagged on a nuclear submarine and the whales were towed out to sea. * The shot with Chekov (Koenig) and Uhura (Nichols) asking about the location of the naval base was shot with a hidden camera and the people they were asking had no idea they were being filmed for a movie. It was done that way, according to the director, for "realism", the woman speaking in the scene had to be inducted into the Actors' Guild in order for the lines to be kept; the production crew found the line too amusing to be cut out. * The character of Dr. Taylor was originally a male character who was a wacky college professor who was a "UFO nut," and, for added humor to the lighthearted script, actor Eddie Murphy was offered the role. He declined and decided on The Golden Child instead (a decision he admits later was a big mistake), and Catherine Hicks won the role. * Madge Sinclair's character as the captain of the ''Saratoga'' was the first female captain shown in Star Trek. * The mysterious "speech" of the probe was real whale song. The whale song could be heard clearly when the probe's speech was adjusted for underwater attenuation. * The whale hunters speak (very broken) Finnish. One shot shows the look-out in the mast shouting "Siellä ne puhaltaa!" (roughly translated as "There they blow!"). The older man (captain?) also comments "Valaita edessä!" ("Whales ahead!"), and when the harpoon hits the cloaked Klingon ship, a man exclaims "Mitä helvettiä tuo oli?" ("What the hell was that?"). However, Finnish-flagged ships have never hunted whales; Norwegians would have been a better choice. (However, there is nothing to prevent Finns from serving on a foreign-flagged whaler.) * Early drafts of the script had Saavik remaining on Vulcan due to her being pregnant with Spock's child, following the events of the previous movie when young Spock went through pon farr as he aged rapidly. *Kirk Thatcher was a special-effects crewmember in Star Trek III. In The Voyage Home, he was associate producer, provided the computer voice for Spock's test computer (along with the touch-sensitive controls), and not only played the legendary Punk on the bus but he also penned the song "I Hate You" heard on the punk's boom box. (The song "I Hate You" was later re-used in the Frankie Avalon/Annette Funicello film Back To The Beach.) * The lighted table in Starfleet Command eventually became the famous "pool table" located in main engineering of USS Enterprise-D. * This marks Majel Barrett's final performance as Nurse/Doctor Christine Chapel. * Much of the outer space Klingon Bird-of-Prey footage (except the time warp) is reused from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. * The aircraft carrier sequences were actually filmed aboard the conventionally-powered Forrestal-class carrier USS Ranger (CV 61). Ranger can be told from Enterprise by her longer rectangular superstructure (barely visible behind the hair of Nichelle Nichols) and different arrangement of aircraft elevators. Enterprise was out at sea at the time and unavailable for filming. Even if available, in 1986, the engineering spaces of the nuclear carriers were deeply classified and filming a movie in them would have been impossible. All Enterprise sailors were played by Ranger personnel (in certain scenes, freeze-frame reveals sailors wearing Ranger ballcaps rather than Enterprise ones). * When McCoy asks for Spock's comments of dying and being reborn, Spock states that he could not explain it to McCoy, who has no frame of reference since he has never died. Both appear to be forgetting McCoy's death and resurrection in TOS: "Shore Leave". * Kirk quotes D.H. Lawrence's poem "Whales Weep Not!" to Gillian Taylor ("They say the sea is cold, but the sea contains the hottest blood of all") who recognizes the quotation's provenance. * The Voyage Home is the highest-grossing Star Trek film to date, making over $109 million in the United States. * In the shot of Kirk looking out the escape hatch of the Bird of Prey you can clearly see the studio and not the storm. * The Federation President tells the Klingon ambassador that there are nine charges against Admiral Kirk. At the end of the movie during the trial he only lists six. * Due to the success of this film, Paramount decided to bring the franchise back to the small screen, in the form of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Continuity *Scotty is shown wearing the rank of commander as the crew is in the Council Chambers having the charges read to them. Scotty was promoted to Captain in Star Trek III and also wears Captain rank in Star Trek V and Star Trek VI. It is entirely possible, however, that Scotty had not yet had a chance to change his uniform since his promotion. *At one point, Kirk tells Gillian that he comes from the late 23rd century. This date is consistent with later timeline points established by Star Trek: The Next Generation, but at the time conflicted with fandom assumptions that the movie was set around the 2220's. Links and References Cast *William Shatner as Kirk *Leonard Nimoy as Spock *DeForest Kelley as McCoy *James Doohan as Scotty *George Takei as Sulu *Walter Koenig as Chekov *Nichelle Nichols as Uhura *Jane Wyatt as Amanda *Catherine Hicks as Gillian *Mark Lenard as Sarek *Robin Curtis as Lt. Saavik *Robert Ellenstein as Federation Council President *John Schuck as Klingon Ambassador Starfleet Personnel *Brock Peters as Admiral Cartwright *Michael Snyder as Starfleet communications officer *Michael Berryman as Starfleet display officer *Mike Brislane as ''Saratoga'' science officer *Grace Lee Whitney as Commander Rand *Jane Wiedlin as Trillya (Alien Communications Officer) *Vijay Amritraj as Joel Randolph (Starship Captain) *Majel Barrett as Commander Chapel *Nick Ramus as ''Saratoga'' helmsman *Thaddeus Golas as Controller #1 *Martin Pistone as Controller #2 In Old San Francisco *Scott DeVenney as Bob Briggs *Viola Kates Stimpson as Lady in Tour *Phil Rubenstein as 1st Garbageman *John Miranda as 2nd Garbageman *Joe Knowland as Antique Store Owner *Bob Sarlatte as Waiter *Everett Lee as Cafe Owner *Richard Harder as Joe *Alex Henteloff as Nichols *Tony Edwards as Pilot *Eve Smith as Elderly Patient *Tom Mustin as Intern #1 *Greg Karas as Intern #2 *Raymond Singer as Young Doctor *David Ellenstein as Doctor #1 *Judy Levitt as Doctor #2 *Teresa E. Victor as Usher *James Menges as the Jogger *Kirk Thatcher as Punk on Bus Naval Personnel *Jeff Lester as FBI Agent *Joe Lando as Shore Patrolman *Newell Tarrant as Rogerson (CDO) *Mike Timoney as Electronics Technician *Jeffrey Martin as Electronics Technician *1st Sgt. Joseph Naradzay, USMC as Marine Sergeant *1st Lt. Donald W. Zautcke, USMC as Marine Lieutenant Uncredited *Madge Sinclair as [[USS Saratoga (NCC-1867) personnel|the Saratoga Captain]] *Stephen Liska as Torg (archived footage) *Monique DeSart as Madelaine *Joseph Adamson as Doctor #3 Stunts *Gregory J. Barnett as Stunt Double for Leonard Nimoy (Spock) *John Meier as Stunt Double for William Shatner (Kirk) References Alameda; Alaska; Andorians; Bering Sea; Berkeley; borite; ''Bounty'', HMS; cetacean; Cetacean Institute; Clampett; cloaking device; colorful metaphors; ''Copernicus'', USS; cramps; dialysis; dilithium; Earth Spacedock; Edinburgh; ''Enterprise'' (CVN-65), USS; ''Enterprise'', USS; ''Enterprise''-A, USS; ''Excelsior'', USS; FBI; Federation Council; Federation science vessel; flea trap; Free Speech Movement; gadolinium; Geneva; George; Golden Gate Park; Gottlieb; Gracie; Gregory; Hamlet; heat shield; Humpback whales; "I Hate You"; ''Intrepid'', USS; Iowa; Juneau; kidney; Kidney pill; Kiri-kin-tha; Kiri-kin-tha's First Law of Metaphysics; Klendth; Klingon Empire; Klingon mummification glyph; Lawrence, D.H.; LDS; Leningrad; Loonkerian outpost; Macintosh; Michelob; nuclear fission; Pacific Bell; pizza; Plexicorp; Robbins, Harold; Saloon, The; Sam; San Francisco; San Francisco Register; ''Saratoga'', USS; Sausalito; Sector 5; ''Shepard'', USS; Shuttlepod; Slingshot effect; Starfleet Command; Starfleet Headquarters; Susann, Jacqueline; Tellarites; Terran solar system; Tokyo; T'Plana-Hath; United Federation of Planets; universal atmospheric element compensator; Vulcan (planet); Vulcans; Weintraub; Whale Probe; whale song; Winchell's Donut House; ''Yorktown'', USS; Zaranites Other references Arcadians; Ariolo; Arkenites; Bzzit Khaht; Caitians; Efrosians; four dimensional time gate; Kasheeta; Ralph Seron; Shres; toroidal space-time distortion; Xelatians. Related Topics Alternate timeline; [[USS Saratoga (NCC-1867) personnel|USS Saratoga personnel]]; Money; Riverside; Smoking; Starfleet ranks; Time travel; United States armed forces External Links * * * Filming Locations at Film in America Voyage Home, The de:Star Trek IV: Zurück in die Gegenwart es:Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home fr:Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home nl:Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home sv:Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home